Oct 30, 2009  |  By: Chris Johnson  | COMMENTS     

A GOP congressional candidate in New York who supports same-sex marriage is struggling to eke out a victory in her race — apparently because of her positions on social issues and escalating national attention to the contest — even though she’s running in a Republican district.

Diedre “Dede” Scozzafava is the Republican candidate seeking to represent her state’s 23rd congressional district in a special election set for Nov. 3. A member of the New York Assembly since 1999, Scozzafava voted in 2007 and again earlier this year in favor of bills to legalize same-sex marriage in New York.

The contest to represent New York’s 23rd congressional district is unusual in that the Republican supports same-sex marriage, while other contenders — Democrat Bill Owens and Doug Hoffman, the candidate for New York’s Conservative Party — don’t support marriage rights for same-sex couples.

Dan Pinello, a gay government professor at the City University of New York, said Scozzafava is “without question” having difficulties because of her support for same-sex marriage, as well as her positions on other social issues such as abortion rights.

“It’s a terrible shame because the message it sends is … don’t break with your party on socially conservative issues,” he said.

A Democrat hasn’t represented New York’s 23rd congressional district or any of its predecessors since 1871, but recent polls show Scozzafava is trailing in the race.

One poll published Oct. 23 by Daily Kos/Research 2000 found Owens leading in the race at 35 percent, followed by Scozzafava at 30 percent and Hoffman at 23 percent. Twelve percent of responders identified as undecided.

Scozzafava’s campaign also is behind in fundraising. According to the latest data on the Federal Election Campaign’s web site, she’s raised about $250,000 for her campaign. By comparison, Owens has raised just over $500,000 and Hoffman has raised about $300,000.

Prominent Republicans and conservative national groups also have weighed in on the race and endorsed the Conservative Party’s Hoffman — even though local Republicans selected Scozzafava as their nominee.

The conservative Club for Growth is heavily funding Hoffman, and endorsements have come from conservative radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh, Rep. Michelle Bachmann (R-Minn.) and the Family Research Council’s political action committee. On Oct. 23, former Alaska governor and GOP vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin endorsed Hoffman.

Despite this Republican support for her opponent, Scozzafava picked up an endorsement earlier this month from former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrich. He defended Scozzafava in a Monday interview with Fox News, noting that local authorities chose her for the nomination.

“There were four Republican meetings,” he said. “In all four meetings … Dede Scozzafava came in first. In all four meetings, Mr. Hoffman, the independent, came in either last or certainly not in the top three.”

Gingrich said prominent Republicans who aren’t supporting Scozzafava are forgetting the Republican Party’s philosophy of greater power for local government.

“I just find it fascinating that my many friends who claim to be against Washington having too much power, they claim to be in favor of the 10th Amendment giving states back their rights — they claim to favor local control and local authority, now they suddenly get local control and local authority in upstate New York, they don’t like the outcome,” he said.

None of the campaigns for candidates running in the 23rd district responded to the Blade’s requests for comment.

National gay groups support Scozzafava National LGBT groups, including the Human Rights Campaign and the Log Cabin Republicans, have thrown their support behind Scozzafava.

Jeff Cook, Log Cabin’s legislative adviser, said his organization is helping with Scozzafava’s campaign — in conjunction with others within the Republican Party — because she advocates for inclusiveness and traditional Republican values.

“She’s the Republican nominee, she’s an inclusive Republican and she has a record in support of lower taxes and smaller government — and we’re proud to help her,” he said.

In response to recent polling data, Cook said Scozzafava’s supporters knew the race would be tight toward the end. He also noted that all polls are within the margin of error.

“I believe she’s going to pull it out,” Cook said. “I’m basing that on the fact the she’s a very popular elected official who knows her district well, knows her constituents well, and is the best person to represent the North Country in Congress.”

Marty Rouse, HRC’s national field director, said he thinks Scozzafava will emerge victorious, even though it will be a close race, and predicted her win would encourage moderation within the Republican Party.

“It’s a political campaign, and we’re stuck in the middle of it, but I’m hoping that when we’re ...